Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brad Kuenn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Brad, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the toughest things about entrepreneurship is that there is almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?
Towards the end of 2019, Vanessa (my wife and co-owner) and I purchased the future home of Brightside Studios at 839 E. Camelback Rd. We had dreamt of the opportunity that was finally open to us and felt like nothing would get in our way from building a one-of-a-kind venue for artists in The Valley. Within a month, the country was in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brightside Studios struggled just as many new or independent businesses did during those early months. We couldn’t get the city to issue permits for inspection, construction 0r anything necessary to get our dream project off the ground. Nowadays, when asked, I talk to people about finding the bright side of every situation- and in the midst of a pandemic when there quite literally isn’t anything positive to say- it can be easier said than done. For us, however, our time stuck “in limbo” meant more planning; more time to think about the customer’s experience; more time to hone in on our idea and what could make Brightside truly special. We didn’t know it yet, but those months our family spent together would be some of the most important in our lifetime.
It was August 2020, and I was taking out some junk to the back dumpster. As I made my way outside, I suddenly felt woozy – then faint – then ultimately blacked out. When I came to, I had incredible pain in my back. I thought I had hurt myself during the fall, so decided to head home, rest and visit the doctor the next day. It was then my wife and I were told that I had cancer. We didn’t know what to do. We felt like the pandemic was going to be our “big hurdle” starting this business. Now, this? We have two young boys, ages 5 and 3. What do we tell them? Brightside Studios was still halfway completed- we were in the middle of installing sprinklers throughout the building and had no ceiling! Do we call the whole thing off?
Later that month, I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a rare blood cancer that affects the bone marrow. Only a decade ago, I had watched my grandfather die of the same disease after a three-year battle. In my mind, this was the worst-case scenario. After many tests and doctor visits, I started two chemotherapy treatments simultaneously on September 28, 2020. By March 2021, I entered the hospital for an autologous bone marrow transplant. For me and my wife, Brightside Studios once again felt like a far-off dream.
After the transplant, I could not walk; I could not bathe myself; I had lost 55lbs and could not eat easily. People do not understand how much Vanessa took on during those months. She not only took care of my recovery, but she also mothered our two young kids during the pandemic, took over Brightside Studios, and made sure our dream didn’t die. She found our vendors, decorated the space, helped hire the staff, and started building the Brightside Community that we know of, today.
When word started getting out about my diagnosis, it was the first time Vanessa and I saw what this community was capable of doing. We had four muralists offer their time and talent to create four separate murals that cover the interior of our building – we didn’t even have running water to offer them – but they wanted to support Brightside’s dream. Diego Perez, Jason Begay, Nyla Lee, and Tato Caraveo worked over the course of 4 months to create some of the best large works in the city.
We finally had the permits from the city, and a local team jumped on the opportunity to make up for lost time and finish the construction by end of 2021. Family and friends came on the weekends to help paint, build furniture, and put the finishing touches together.
By January 2022, I was back in the building full-time, and Brightside Studios was ready for Grand Open. Thanks to the community Vanessa had helped build before we had even opened, (through social media support, newsletters, and word-of-mouth), we welcomed over 300 customers during our Soft and Grand Openings. Now, entering just our second month of business, Brightside Studios has over 100 members that use our main studio to create, hang out and work on their next art projects. We have local musicians come jam out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. It’s unlike anything in the country, and it was made possible by the creatives in Phoenix who wanted it most.
As for me – well, although recovered from a successful bone marrow transplant – I still have cancer – and likely will have it for the remainder of my life. Treatments continue to improve and I am hopeful to be around for a long while. At least, long enough to see Brightside Studios grow and support more artists; long enough to see my boys Noah and Arlo come in, grab a coffee, some paint and a few brushes, and start laying down some color!
Brad, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Brad Kuenn, and my wife Vanessa and I started the concept of Brightside Studios back in 2016. Vanessa was pregnant with our first child, Noah, and wanted me to paint a mural for the nursery.
I always loved art but found myself stuck using Charcoal and Graphite. I had never challenged myself to use paint and color, partially because I never wanted to spend the money on supplies and make a mess! I was working for my family’s digital marketing agency at the time, Vertical Measures, and found it completely stressful. I would come home unhappy all the time, vent out about leaving my job – but never doing it – and making my entire household miserable. But when I started the mural and really gave painting a try for the first time, something clicked. Suddenly I was thinking about painting the mural at work, I couldn’t wait to come home and get back to working on the different areas of the mural. Not only that but when I was actively painting – focused entirely on the craft – my stress and anxiety melted away.
I thought, “If this can happen for me, there must be others who would see the same benefit of painting for therapy.” And from there, the idea of shelling a warehouse so that artists could make a mess and experiment with color was born.
Only, I am married to Vanessa. She comes who comes from a hospitable Italian-Mexican home, insisted that “If they are going to come paint, they should have a place to eat!”. And thus, the Brightside Cafe was born. From there, we decided that if people were going to paint and stay to eat, they might as well have a lounge with some live music – and a classroom for beginner painters to learn!
From painting a nursery, the process of creating a dream space for local artists began. It took 5 years, 2 kids, surviving a pandemic and cancer diagnosis – but we finally made it to Grand Open on February 22, 2022.
Any advice for managing a team?
I’ve had the pleasure of learning from fantastic leaders throughout my career. If you are a owner, manager, boss, direct report – it doesn’t matter – the principle should remain the same: Treating others with respect isn’t enough. You will be surprised at just how far treating others with KINDNESS will actually take you. This doesn’t need to be an “Our business is like family” cliche. Nobody expects that, not post-pandemic, anyway. But treating your staff with general kindness is the easiest, most ignored step in creating a healthy culture and developing loyalty (lower turnover).
I’ve learned that people are “boss watchers”. Meaning, they look to the top for an example on how to conduct themselves. Your body language, the things you say directly impact the mood and actions of those around you. I believe it’s your responsibility as the leader to set the positive example and establish a culture of kindness among your team.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
My background in digital marketing has shown me that above all else, you must be genuine in your mission. That includes your marketing strategy. I’ve written two marketing books, and through that research, we learned just out good our brains have gotten at filtering out advertisements. It’s become muscle memory to avoid the ad placements and click on organic results. The same is for your business offerings. New companies just starting to build a following need to focus on a value-add that doesn’t necessarily involve the product you’re selling. In the beginning, it’s about engaging, not selling. For us, we were able to gain a following through Instagram by featuring local artists’ paintings, but doing it respectfully and with intention. We didn’t just leach onto the artist’s content – we curated a collection of their work and created “Artist Highlights” that featured their work/style and represented them as REAL artists, not a means to revenue. By practicing what we preach – supporting local artists – we were able to build an engaged following that not only enjoys our content but helps create new content for us by painting new stuff in our studio, sending us artwork to highlight, and wanting to be a part of our active community at Brightside Studios.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brightsidestudios.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrightsideStudiosPHX/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/51647786/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/brightsideaz
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV5VfX5IT7aJhUBmZzpag_Q
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/brightside-studios-phoenix
Image Credits
Vanessa Kuenn & Jessica Juniper